Not From Around Here, Pt 1 The Academy Year One
by kirameru1701
Summary: It's not easy being the first Cardassian in Starfleet, especially when you're the daughter of a convicted murderer... so how is Lenzet Dukat going to handle her situation? Post-Dominion War, contains very few canon characters. **Currently on hiatus**
1. Chapter 1

_STARFLEET ACADEMY PERSONNEL PROFILE_

_FOR THE REVIEW OF THE SAAAB_

_MANDATORY:_

_Full Name: Lenzet Dukat_

_Species: Cardassian_

_Age: 20 years_

_Gender: Female_

_Rank: Cadet, provisional_

_Assignment: NYA_

_Division: NYA_

_Subdivision: NYA_

_Birthplace: format City, Planet, Government: Unknown, Cardassia Prime, Cardassian Union_

_Eye Color: Blue_

_Hair Color: Black_

_Height: 5'7"_

_Weight: 118_

_Race: NA_

_Physical Alterations (Surgical, Cybernetic, Genetic, etc.) (IA): None_

_Chronic Medical Conditions (IA): None_

_Marital Status: Single_

_Children: None_

_Siblings: Several, exact relations unknown_

_Mother: Karen, Glinn Vell status: deceased, -9 years_

_Father: Dukat, Legate Jaxen status: unknown, suspected deceased -4 months -flag: high criminal record_

_Education, Pre-Starfleet: Bamarren Military Institute, Cardassia Prime completed, Ac 97, P 97, Ar 89 +flag: outstanding grades at prestigious military institute_

_Education, Starfleet Standard Training Specialty: NYA_

_Education, Starfleet Special Training: NYA_

_MIQ range: 190-200 ±flag: extreme psychological abnormality, possible cause of known irregular behaviors_

_MEIQ range: 180-190 ±flag: extreme psychological abnormality, likely cause of known irregular behaviors_

_Standard Certification Levels: NYA_

_Special Certification Levels: NYA_

_PERSONAL:_

_Sports: Some proficiency demonstrated in all sports (esp. combat), recently chose to pursue horseback riding_

_Musical Instruments: Cardassian synthesizer piano_

_Visual Arts: Unusual proficiency demonstrated in most visual arts (esp. design)_

_Literary Arts: Fiction form: novel, repetitive epic +flag: extraordinary talent, Poetry_

_Other Hobbies/Arts: Computer programming !flag: proficiency could indicate danger to integrity of entry-level and possibly deeper Starfleet databases and protocols: review before admitting_

Captain V'lor closed the file. The computer made a small, short beep, but other than that, and the consistent, ceaseless hammering of the hard rain outside the window, the room was silent, the kind of silent that made you afraid to say anything, the kind of silent that occupied study rooms in libraries.

"It would be illogical to admit this applicant. She is clearly at risk for becoming mentally unstable, and her being the daughter of a convicted mass murderer would doubtless have a negative impact on Academy morale, especially on those unfortunate students whom she might deign to form 'relationships' with."

More silence. V'lor surveyed the room, the grave faces of the uniformed Starfleet officials seated to her left and right around the horseshoe-shaped cherry wood table. They represented many of the species within the Federation - Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Bajoran, Klingon, Benzite. The Bajorans were the most recent addition to the long list of Federation societies - and if this meeting went the way V'lor believed it would, the Cardassians would soon be among those ranks.

She folded her hands on the table in front of her and leaned forward, bringing her sharp features into the spotlight that illuminated the UFP logo in the center of the sparsely carpeted floor. _Mood lighting_, she thought sarcastically. There weren't any other light sources in the room, and so everything outside the center circle was artificially darkened by the optical illusion created by the bright center illumination. If she looked carefully enough at the circle of light, she could see the individual motes of dust floating through the air - they formed fascinating patterns, and she marveled at the efficiency of the equations uncovered to describe their movement.

She looked intensely at the scarcely lit, bearded old face of Admiral Robert Jablonsky, seated roughly across from her. "Admiral, I fully comprehend the extent of Lenzet Dukat's outstanding intellectual achievement, but I do not believe that those statistics even come close to validating the risk of admitting someone with her personality and her history into Starfleet Academy." V'lor paused. "That is the extent of my opinion on this matter." Having finished her statement, the young Vulcan woman leaned back in her chair, her face receding from the central circle of light before disappearing into the mushy darkness along with the rest of the Starfleet Academy Admissions Advisory Board.

Jablonsky took a long time before responding. "I think," he began, slowly and deliberately, his quiet croak of a voice demanding that all those around him listen carefully, "I think that we will admit this promising young lady, and see what she makes of it. After all, V'lor - everyone deserves a chance. As of this date, Lenzet Dukat is admitted to Starfleet Academy." He raised and lowered his eyebrows with his last comment. V'lor knew exactly what he was referring to, and if she had been human, she might have scowled...

"Session dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

V'lor followed Jablonsky into the hallway outside the SAAAB meeting room. "Why are you admitting her?"

Jablonsky stopped and turned towards her - V'lor stopped as well, and Jablonsky waited on his reply until the other board members had meandered out of hearing range. "I just want to help bring the Cardassians into the Federation. I'm sorry, but she was the only applicant who came even close to anything we would allow through these doors."

"Perhaps you should have looked harder." The ice in V'lor's tone matched her cold steel-blue eyes and seemed to fit nicely in with the weather outside. In fact, if V'lor had been anyone else, Jablonsky would have commented on the careful art that shone through in her personal interactions. "Or perhaps we should wait. After all, our first attempts to bring the Klingons into the Federation failed, and there is no reason to assume that events will transpire any differently here."

"Walk with me, V'lor." Jablonsky put a hand on his colleague's shoulder and guided her into a transparent aluminum-enclosed tunnel that branched off from the main Starfleet Academy complex and crossed through a well-maintained garden. "We need - " He cut himself off, as if he was about to say something that he didn't want her to hear. "Look at where we are now with the Klingons. They've come nicely into the fold."

"You should know from experience that the Cardassians don't do anything nicely. And they aren't nearly as stupid as the Klingons - they might use this as an opportunity to get a spy into Starfleet." V'lor was confident that this point could be the one to convince Jablonsky to let go of this 'promising young lady' and do something more reasonable to make the Cardassians feel like part of the Federation.

"Captain, which Cardassians are you talking about, exactly? The Obsidian Order is long gone and so is her father..."

"Gone, sir. But perhaps not dead." V'lor knew this was a dangerous thing to bring up with a skeptical man like Admiral Jablonsky, but she felt obligated to cover all the bases, especially on such a potentially sensitive subject.

Jablonsky sighed. "Oh, spare me. You know I don't believe in any of that wishy-washy nonsense about temples and prophets and demons and devils."

V'lor raised an eyebrow. "Very well, sir. In fact, neither do I. I simply thought it would be prudent to bring up the subject." The two officers had reached the main Starfleet building, and as they entered, they took their separate ways down the corridor stretching around the perimeter of the building, Jablonsky heading towards the basement for another meeting and V'lor heading to her small apartment on the roof level to meditate. After all, it wouldn't be proper to participate in such an emotional encounter without giving it time to dissipate.

(A/N: Don't worry, you'll get to actually meet Lenzet in the next chapter.)


	3. Chapter 3

As slowly worked against him the life sought from others what it could not find in him

(A/N: This chapter is longer. Also, a lot of the upcoming writings will be primarily for expository purposes, although it's very useful to be able to weave them into a fictional narrative. PM me if there's anything you aren't clear on, or generally if there's anything about any Star Trek culture that you want my opinion on, my (non-canon) additions to, or my interpretation of.)

_As slowly worked against him the life sought from others what it could not find in him_

_As when did the fire leap from the rocks and the cavern and soar through the sky, searching for its home like a vaala for its nest_

_As it looked, and though could not find, found, in the expanse of the cavern, one mind_

_The mind opened its thoughts to the life, thinking the thoughts of the life and knowing that the end would never come_

_For the life was now immortal, searching deep for its meaning as it explored the mind, finding compassion and hatred, lust and lies_

_The life sought in the mind to find a place for to reside, for one but the mind rejected it as it came to know for what looked the life_

_The mind tried to fight the life, but the life was too strong for the mind and the mind soon lost, buried within the life and the will of life_

_The mind had lost to the life, but now began to find that within the life, there was compassion for the agents of darkness_

_The life told the mind the truth, as the mind accepted did its patterns form of the darkness of life_

_As the mind and the life became not two, not one, the life did tell the mind of the darkness within it that never surfaced_

Lenzet Dukat put down her padd and stylus, saving a draft copy of her poem and leaning back against the headboard of her bed on the top floor of Bamarren Military Provisional Housing. As usual, there was a quote scrolling across the ceiling from a 2D projector programmed to display quotes from 2nd-Millennium-Era Earth - this one claimed that "Every religion is right about one thing, and that is that all the others are completely wrong". She smiled. Obviously some people from 2000-E Earth had intelligent things to say.

Her temporary quarters weren't exactly spacious, but 2 rooms and no roommate was much better than 1 room and 9 roommates. She missed having a roommate - her poetry, piano, strength training, and meditation could only keep her occupied for so long, and by the early evening she would usually have to go down to the gardens at some school or embassy and find someone to talk with.

Mentally, Lenzet put 'gardens' in quotes because the gardens were never actually gardens - they tended to be large mounds of dirt and debris rather than open plains covered in grass and flowers - but people still congregated there, and one of the things she loved most about her native city was that people were usually intelligent and outspoken. Her expectations were slowly lowering with the massive influx of aliens from around the galaxy, who were generally not very smart, since they were just here to offer "humanitarian aid". But of course, whatever that meant to the aliens was very different from what it meant to her.

The Federation seemed to view "humanitarian aid" as help rebuilding streets, buildings, and giving massive quantities of food and water to anyone who tugged on their jacket sleeves asking for it. The Klingons, now believing the Cardassians to be their allies, wanted to give them weapons and ships, but the Federation denied that level of aid. But, all those things that the Federation was doing weren't really helping - the streets were already passable even moments after the attack, the buildings could be rebuilt later, and if the people on the streets weren't resourceful enough to find their own food and water, then that was their problem, not the Federation's. Lenzet could hardly believe it, but for once, she agreed with the Klingons.

Her padd chimed - she reached over and picked it up so she could read the headline of the message. It said, "Notification by way of SAAAB - Admission application to Starfleet Academy accepted. Please note information below:" and went on like that for some time, a jumble of lists and dates. There was a list of mandatory classes for all first year students, and all of the classes were about subjects that she had already covered in varying amounts of detail: Chemistry/Biology, Engineering/Warp Physics, Hand-to-Hand Combat/Starfleet Tactical Interfaces, Interculture Ethics/Interspecies Protocols, Precalculus/Calculus, Psychology/Tactical Analysis, Robotics/AI, and Stellar Cartography/Astrophysics. There was also a list of optional classes that included (among many other, less useful subjects) Ancient Philosophies/Anthropology, Creative Writing/Poetry, Formal Logic/Statistical Analyses, Temporal Mechanics/Parallel Universes, and Transporter Theory/Quantum Mechanics - this was a required course for graduation, but wasn't usually taken until 3rd year. Lenzet absentmindedly made a note on the application to sign her up for all five of those additional classes; they looked interesting. Plus, if she had as much homework as possible, there was a good chance it would give her an excuse to avoid any meaningful interactions with the other students.

She sent the message to Starfleet - they'd get it within a few days, and probably be quite bewildered at the amount of work she chose to take on. They'd get over it, though.

Once she had sent the message, her padd screen returned to the display of the poem she'd been working on. It asked, "return to work on draft?". She clicked "yes" and added the final line:

_As the mind accepted the life, it saw the darkness inherent in the light it had come to hold so close and the mind finally died._

She smiled. It was done.

(A/N: I know, it seems like Starfleet Academy has an insanely intense curriculum. But, hey - the cadets there are the people who are going to be in Starfleet eventually, and the Federation only wants the best of the best.)


End file.
